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Corps Marshal Charges Staff on Productivity, Recommit To Workers Welfare Programs

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2025

Joel Ajayi

The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed has charged staff to sustain the tempo of last year’s productivity with a view to improving the service delivery goals of the Corps in 2025, saying staff capacity development, welfare and regular promotion exercise will remain the cornerstones of his Management agenda.

The Corps Marshal stated this during the maiden 2025 Corps Marshal’s parade organized at the FRSC National Headquarters Abuja on Monday, 3rd February, 2025.

While reviewing the Corps’ 2024 activities, Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed gave kudos to the Management staff, Commanding Officers, Heads of Unit and generality of staff for the sacrifices, initiatives and commitment they demonstrated in making the success achieved in the last year’s activities, especially in the end of year special patrol which possible.

“With your resilience and tenacity, we were able to contain the traffic management challenges and created safer road environment for all travellers during the Christmas and new year celebrations,” he stated.

The Corps Marshal commiserated with the families of the deceased staff who lost their lives in active service, praying for the peaceful repose of their souls. He however stressed the need for staff to take their health seriously by participating in regular fitness exercises and visit hospitals for regular checkups to avoid major health challenges.

On the need for increased productivity, the Corps Marshal charged staff not to rest on their oars in raising the bar of productivity attained last year, assuring that staff who display excellence in their given assignments would be duly rewarded while those that are found to be indolent or unproductive would not go unpunished.

“You must be prepared to respond appropriately to instructions, show excellence in your work and avoid acts of indiscipline including rumour mongering, indolence and any acts capable of dragging the image of the Corps to the muds,” the Corps Marshal stated.

On the 37th anniversary celebration of the FRSC which comes up on 18 February this year, the Corps Marshal congratulated the staff for holding tenaciously onto the values of the Corps as envisioned by the founding fathers, noting that despite the challenges, the organization has remained on track in its commitment to serving humanity over the years.

He vowed to sustain the values of service delivery under his leadership and called on all staff to join in the campaign to make FRSC a leading example of a high performance organization not only in Nigeria but globally.

On staff welfare, the Corps Marshal disclosed that as part of his commitment to creating conducive working and living environments for the staff, the FRSC Staff Cooperative Scheme and the FRSC Housing Cooperative are being strengthened to make them more responsive to the needs of the staff. To this end, he disclosed that arrangement is being made with some reputable House developers to make affordable houses available to the staff while efforts have been completed for the FRSC to operate its own Healthcare Management Organization (HMO).

This, he said will make it possible for the Corps to provide more qualitative healthcare to staff and their families for improved health conditions for all staff.

On the technological innovations of the FRSC, the Corps Marshal stressed the need for staff to download the FRSC Mobile app launched last year to enable them have proper understanding of the Corps’ technical advancement in addressing the traffic management challenges of the country and for them to have information that could assist them to educate members of the public.

Speaking on promotion exercise, the Corps Marshal disclosed that promotion exercises for this year will commence very soon to fill vacant positions starting from those of the Deputy Corps Marshals (DCMs) while others will follow accordingly to make sure that there’s no backlog in promotion matters.

The Corps Marshal further enjoined staff to embrace the digitization policy of the Corps by learning to become more computer literate, saying very soon, the process will be completed and use of papers may become obsolete in most administrative and operational activities of the Corps as every office will be provided with computers to work with.

On the ongoing amendment of the FRSC Establishment Act 2007, the Corps Marshal disclosed that public hearing towards the amendment of the Act was organized by the House of Representatives ast year and enjoined all staff to brace up for greater responsibilities in the expected amendments to justify the efforts.

The Corps Marshal encouraged staff with good ideas to always pass such ideas through their superior officers in line with the channels of communication, saying everyone’s idea is important in moving the Corps to greater heights.
While recommitting to the ideals of the FRSC as envisioned by the founding fathers, the Corps Marshal assured that all necessary steps would be taken to give the staff sense of responsibility and pride, saying no one will be denied of his or her entitlement including proper recognition for any achievement made by the staff in the course of carrying out the official assignment.

The parade address which took place after the Corps Marshal inspected the Quarter Guard and carried out general inspections of the main parade consisting the officers and Marshals of the National Headquarters ended with Three Hearty Cheers to the Corps Marshal.

Staff who spoke shortly after the parade address expressed optimism that this year will be more productive, rewarding and glorious for all the staff. They also wished the Corps Marshal well in his determination to quickly bring positive changes to the FRSC.

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Health

New Malaria Plan Puts States, Local Data At Centre Of Nigeria’s 2030 Response

Published

2 days ago

October 22, 2026

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

Nigeria’s latest malaria data point to a country making progress overall but facing sharply different disease burdens from one state to another, prompting health authorities to shift emphasis towards locally tailored interventions under a new five-year strategy.

The National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP) 2026–2030, launched alongside the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) report, seeks to cut malaria parasite prevalence and deaths by 50 per cent from 2025 levels by 2030.

Rather than applying a uniform national response, the plan prioritises interventions based on local epidemiological evidence, while also calling for stronger domestic financing, improved diagnosis and treatment, better surveillance and clearer accountability.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Daju Kachallom, presented the government’s position at the joint launch in Abuja.

Pate described the survey and strategic plan as essential tools for identifying weaknesses in malaria control and directing resources towards areas with the greatest need.

He said the survey’s findings on prevalence, prevention, diagnosis and treatment would support policy development, programme implementation, resource allocation and performance assessment.

The minister said the strategic plan was designed to accelerate progress towards a malaria-free Nigeria while remaining consistent with national health priorities and the World Health Organisation’s global malaria strategy.

He commended the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the National Population Commission (NPC), development partners and other stakeholders involved in producing the survey and plan.

Pate also called for a shared national effort involving federal and state governments, the private sector, communities and households, stressing that malaria elimination could not be achieved by government alone.

The 2025 NMIS shows that malaria parasite prevalence among children aged six to 59 months, measured through microscopy, fell from 42 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2018, 22 per cent in 2021 and 15 per cent in 2025.

However, the national improvement masks substantial differences between states. Prevalence among children in the same age group ranged from two per cent in Lagos State to 31 per cent in Ebonyi State.

The figures indicate that progress has not been evenly distributed and that malaria control efforts must be adapted to the conditions in individual states and communities.

Earlier, the National Coordinator of NMEP, Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, said the NMSP was developed from the 2025 NMIS findings and other programme data.

She said the evidence would help policymakers locate high-burden areas, improve the design of interventions and direct limited resources to communities most in need.

Ogbulafor said the plan was aligned with Nigeria’s health sector priorities and the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030.

She identified policy alignment, state-level leadership, domestic financing, partnerships and accountability as central to implementation.

The national coordinator urged state governments, civil society organisations and development partners to take ownership of the plan and support coordinated, adequately funded malaria programmes.

She said the differences in prevalence across states made subnational planning indispensable to meeting the national targets.

Ogbulafor called on states to develop comprehensive malaria control programmes reflecting local disease burdens, epidemiological evidence and available resources.

She also stressed the need for sustained domestic financing and partnerships to close funding gaps and maintain implementation through 2030.

NMEP, she said, would work with the National Malaria Working Group and international partners to track implementation, assess performance and review results regularly.

The plan aims to raise access to and use of preventive interventions to at least 80 per cent, achieve at least 90 per cent effective coverage of malaria diagnosis and appropriate treatment among at-risk populations, and improve surveillance performance from a baseline of 47 per cent to 70 per cent by 2030.

It also targets stronger governance and organisational capacity, with at least 60 per cent of malaria programme resources expected to come from domestic sources by 2030.

The survey data show that prevention remains uneven. Only 54 per cent of households had at least one insecticide-treated net, while 45 per cent of children under five and 54 per cent of pregnant women aged 15–49 slept under a net on the night before the survey.

Protection during pregnancy was also incomplete. Among women aged 15–49 who had a live birth in the preceding two years, 62 per cent received at least one dose of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine during their last pregnancy, but only 33 per cent received three or more doses.

The findings point to the need to expand access to insecticide-treated nets and intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women.

Diagnosis is another major gap. Of children under five who had a fever in the two weeks before the survey, 59 per cent had advice or treatment sought, but only 18 per cent had blood taken for malaria testing.

The strategic plan therefore places emphasis on prompt testing, appropriate treatment, preventive services and public awareness.

In his remarks, the Director-General of NPC, Dr Abubakar Muhammed, pledged the commission’s continued support for credible demographic and health data to guide policymaking and malaria elimination efforts.

Muhammed said the survey reflected the partnership between the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, through NMEP, and the NPC.

He said the collaboration brought together expertise in malaria control, demographic surveys and data management to produce information for national planning and development.

The NPC director-general said the commission would continue to modernise its survey operations through technologies such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and spatial techniques.

He urged policymakers, programme managers, researchers and development partners to use the findings to refine strategies, improve implementation and target communities where interventions were most needed.

Muhammed commended the ministry, NMEP, technical consultants, state enumerators and field teams for their roles in conducting the survey.

He said the report would provide a strong evidence base for a coordinated national malaria response.

The launch of the NMIS report and NMSP 2026–2030 places the next phase of Nigeria’s malaria response on a clearer understanding of where the disease remains most entrenched, while challenging states and partners to convert that evidence into measurable local action.

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